Any new tactics for next season after watching the Euros?

[rocker959]

I don`t know what was so unusual about Spain playing without a striker. We did it all last season.

Hehehe very good.

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

The thing about Spain, is that they did the pressing high up the pitch when Italy got the ball, which made it harder for them to play from the back. That's one thing we didn't really do last year; we'd lose the ball, CMS might go for a run towards the player with the ball, but everyone else would come back to a line of 5 across the half way line.

I noticed this a lot last season. CMS puts pressure on the keeper and cuts off an easy pass to at least 1 player, if we had another player come forward and cut off the other option it would force the opposition players to either drop back or the keeper to hoof it.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

lots of the spanish goals came from crosses!

Did they?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'm getting a bit fed up with all the derision of the longball game (aka hoofball). Don't get me wrong - I like the way we play, but I do wish we did it a bit faster, a bit more incisively - and a bit further up the pitch! And no, I don't want to see defenders just hoofing the ball hopefully upfield, and I do not enjoy watching a game of head tennis.
But..............all this seems to be leading to the theory that it's bad to pass the ball too far, which is bo11ocks. Stevie G's fabulous pinpoint cross on to Andy Carroll's head was brilliant for me - but I'm sure there were people sitting there thinking, "Oh, hoofball - just lob it in for a big centre forward to chase" - and Ballotelli's goal against Germany came from a long pass out of defence, hit thirty yards in a forward direction, not across the field, or back towards the goalkeeper. What terrible football that was, eh?
Stick to the tippy tappy, yes - but still be aware that there might be a good forward thirty yard pass on the cards........and that the ball can travel from point A to point B far faster than any player in the history of the game!

Was it a pinpoint cross from Gerrard or just one of the many punts up to Carroll that worked?

 

[Jack Daniels]

As strikers are a thing of the past we have no need to go spending money on one.

 

[Seagull58]

Agreed but look at Spain's second last night. Quite a direct style which we rarely saw at the Albion last season. Kick out from the keeper wide on the halfway line. 3 passes then a through ball. This style would really play to CMS's strengths and I for one would like to see us mix up the triangles with this once in a while.

1. we need to keep the ball
2. we need a player who can find the killer pass through the defence as per Spain's gorgeous, wonderful, orgasmic second goal.
3. we have to have an option to spread it wide, get round the full back and whip in a pacy cross curling away from the keeper
4. We need to get someone's head on the cross as per Silva's goal.

Simples.

 

[Seagull58]

Because it is ruddy difficult. There aren't many teams who even try to press as far up the pitch as Spain did last night. If it goes wrong you leave big holes to be exploited, or even worse, acres of space for forwards to run into behind the back four.

Top teams defend from the front. When Liverpool were in their prime their defence started with Rush chasing down the defence all the time.

 

[Seagull58]

Was it a pinpoint cross from Gerrard or just one of the many punts up to Carroll that worked?

It was a quality cross hit with pace from out wide around and behind the defence. Not a hopeful punt from deep.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

It was a quality cross hit with pace from out wide around and behind the defence. Not a hopeful punt from deep.

It wasn't the only ball in the tournament to land on Carroll's head though was it? A ball from out wide gets lucky and it's dressed up as a quality cross. Had another one of these many balls onto Carroll's bonce been lucky instead, that would have been dressed up as a defence splitting ball down the middle...or something.

 

[Simster]

It wasn't the only ball in the tournament to land on Carroll's head though was it? A ball from out wide gets lucky and it's dressed up as a quality cross. Had another one of these many balls onto Carroll's bonce been lucky instead, that would have been dressed up as a defence splitting ball down the middle...or something.

You are sounding ridiculous. That cross was a quality ball, there is no debate here. You can argue that England rely on this sort of service (and slack opposition marking!) too much instead of passing their way through the opposition, but your refusal to call a spade a spade in this instance is utterly laughable!

 

[Zebedee]

I'd like to see us passing the ball a bit more in our own half - preferably from side to side.

 

[Mellotron]

Hehehe very good.

He played on the left wing and scored quite a few, actually.